Page 13 of Entangled
The irony of the universe and the karma it dealt with didn't escape me.
I had set myself up for this when I let my newfound possessiveness for her come to the surface, but no matter how messy this was going to be, I couldn’t wait to have her.
Mine.
All the bourbonin the world couldn’t give me enough courage to say no to my father’s request. Whoever came up with the concept of liquid courage has never met Matthias Luchetti.
It would have been smart of me to say no and to kill this obsessive bug I had for the woman before it began to multiply against my will, but it had been a long time since I’d been a smart man.
After the mentally exhausting day I’d had, but after the bomb he just dropped, I still couldn’t bring myself to peel myself from my father’s couch in the den and head home. My brothers had gone home long ago, leaving straight from Lilah’s, and my father left to do God knows what, so I was alone.
Or so I had thought, before I heard the distinct sound of footsteps from behind me.
“You’re more than welcome to stay here tonight, but you haven’t done that in many years,” my mother’s voice filled my ears as she teased me.
“Don’t worry mom, I’ll find the energy to leave soon,” I replied, putting on the best smile I could so she didn’t see the inner turmoil within.
“Long day?” She asked, taking a seat on the couch opposite of me.
“You could say that,” I sighed. When it came to my mother, I always felt like I could open up to her, which was a stark contrast to my father. He hadn’t been my go-to person since I was a child.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, Kade,” my mother said softly as she gave me her full attention.
I strained my ears to make sure there were no lurking footsteps around us and then let out a huge sigh.
“I’m just tired of this, ma,” I began. “I am tired of this life and the nothingness it offers me. It’s not like I have any choice in the matter. It’s not like dad would ever let me leave.”
“You underestimate your father, son,” my mother scoffed. “Not to mention you underestimate my ability of persuasion.”
I laughed because she had a point when it came to my father and his weakness for my mother. She was the one person he’d never been able to say no to, and I don’t think either of us would ever see that day in our lifetime.
But even if she had a point about being able to persuade my father into anything she asked, I still couldn’t bring myself to leave. This had been my family and I’s life for as long as I could remember. Leaving the Mafia life behind felt like I would be abandoning my family, and I refused to ever do that.
“I could never leave my family,” I responded, and I knew by the twinkle in my mother’s eye that she was up to no good in her train of thought.
“One day, my son, you will find a motivation that’s big enough to leave your family behind,” she said.
“And what would I care about more than my family?” I asked in disbelief.
“Starting your own,” she said knowingly.
I shook my head, because my mother’s heart was so pure still, that she believed someone as broken as me was capable of a woman’s love.
Little did she know I gave up on that dream a long time ago, and there wasn’t a woman out there today whose love I was worthy of.
5
SOREN
The house was silent,save for the gentle breeze blowing through the curtains of the open window in my bedroom. You couldn’t even hear my sobs as my body silently wracked with them.
I knew as soon as Jude requested the driver bring the car and announced we were going back home that hell would be waiting for me when we got there. If we had been staying at Lilah’s, he wouldn’t have been able to punish me at all, let alone for something as simple as looking in another man’s direction for a tenth of a second.
Everything was made ten times worse when the same man winked at me on his way out. I had no control over anyone’s actions but my own, and yet I was still being punished for them.
My marriage with Jude probably looked normal on the outside, as normal as marriage to a Mafia boss’s son could be. But behind closed doors, it was another animal entirely. One with a vicious nature that liked the smell of blood and the cry of a helpless woman.
I hated myself for letting my life get this way. For not running away when I had the chance. I thought that if I did, my life wouldbe filled with constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for Lilah to take me back. To ruin whatever happiness I would have built.
